


pack your bags kids, we're leaving.

by ココダ - coco (arurun)



Series: dad I swear it's not my fault but [4]
Category: One Piece
Genre: ASL Brothers, Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Gen, The Revolutionary Army (One Piece)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:42:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24077692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arurun/pseuds/%E3%82%B3%E3%82%B3%E3%83%80%20-%20coco
Summary: "Like for fuck's sake I have the son of Dragon and the son of Roger and who do they take? They take Sabo."in which Loto unleashes an army of angry punks on Goa, throws hands with the leader of the Revolutionary army, then vandalizes a Celestial Dragon's ship.Also known as'how they ended up having to leave Dawn Island'.
Series: dad I swear it's not my fault but [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1731370
Comments: 20
Kudos: 515





	1. the incident.

After retrieving Sabo, the kids are ambushed by bandits in the forest.

Outlook is one annoying bastard. I spliced your house in two, go shrivel in a corner and shut up already.

Loto throws around a few too many bandits before he loses his patience. He was growing out his hair (because Luffy thought it’d be pretty) and some stupid bandit decided setting it on fire was funny.

So now he’s a little toasted, getting a trim from Makino, and trying to figure out how to murder everyone in High Town.

“No Sabo, don’t be stingy on the bandages,” he chides at the blond that was doing the bindings on his forearm. 

“But if I wrap any more, you won’t be able to move well,” Sabo says.

“They’re there so you can’t move, Sabo,” Loto tells him. “If you don’t let it heal well, it’ll leave scars, or the muscles won’t regenerate in the right places. And if that happens?” he prompts.

Sabo nods, “enemies will notice it, and it’ll be the reason you die.”

“That’s right. You’re learning,” Loto says, then much lower and in a deeper growl, “much faster than a certain green-haired feral child in that other island.”

“Uhm Dad, what’s a ‘feral child’?” Luffy asks, apparently not very amused by the stain on the floor anymore. 

Loto watches as Sabo redos the bandages, more careful this time. 

“It’s when a kid acts like he’s raised by beasts and apparently has no self-preservation skills,” Loto explains. Oh man, his nails are messed up too.

“I don’t get it,” Luffy mumbles, coming up to the table.

Loto hums. “Well, basically, that--” he points at Ace, “--is a feral child.” Then he points at Sabo. “And this isn’t.”

“Ohh, I get it now!”

“HEY!” Ace yells, offended.

-

_ “Hey, delinquent.” _

Standard greeting for Garp that translates to ‘hey, serious business that I know you’re going to ignore but it’s serious so listen up’.

“What is it, sir?”

_ “A Celestial Dragon is headed your way. Don’t interact.” _

“And since when,” he blew out his cloud of smoke on Luffy, because he was staring at the Den Den Mushi while drooling, and these snails shouldn’t be eaten, “...do I do that kind of shit, Garp?”

Luffy started coughing and went to cry to Sabo. 

_ “Last time I left you alone with one, you made them angry!” _

“In my defense, I was left unsupervised,” he answered smoothly, “and why would they want to come here anyways?”

_ “Hell if I know. Stay in the mountains with the kids and don’t let them mess around, got it?”  _ Garp warns,  _ “it’s risky enough that those brats are infamous through High Town. I don’t want them getting more unwanted attention!” _

**_Kachack._ **

Loto glares at the Den Den. 

That bastard Garp says whatever the fuck he wants and just  _ hangs up? _ Next time you come by I’m filling thumbtacks in your  _ goddamn _ shoes--

Okay, so Extraterrestrial Bastards are coming. 

They’re probably gonna go to Goa. Alright then, Loto can take this chance to go down the mountain and visit Makino for once. That sounds nice.

-

That  _ sounded _ nice.

Then the fucking Terminal’s on fire, Sabo’s nowhere to be seen, Ace went chasing after him, and Luffy’s tied to a tree so he won’t chase after them.

“But dad, the tree house is gonna burn!” 

“Who the  _ fuck _ cares about the tree house right now?!” he snaps, and he winces when Luffy crumples back, evidently hurt. 

Loto lets out a frustrated noise, nails digging into the connecting joint of his metal leg. He looks away. He can’t glare at Luffy like this.

He takes one breath. Another. 

He crouches down, and presses his forehead into Luffy’s, holding him close.

“I’m going to look for them. Stay with Makino and wait for Ace, okay?” he says, forcing the gentle in his voice as much as he can.

-

The treehouse is broken, and it’s not because of the fire. 

It’s shattered in a way only the rough, dumpster-diving terminal punks would know how to shatter. Specific, unsalvageable, torn and the best finds nowhere to be seen.

He closes his eyes. 

Sabo and Ace are at the Terminal, near the middle edge. The fire expands to the entirety of Gray Terminal. Approximately a few hundred voices have vanished thus far.

He stretches further.

_ Oh? That’s one voice he hasn’t seen in a long time. _

He runs, tugging out the last of his rusty skills. Man, he’s too old for this. He draws Ishikirimaru, and cuts down every last one of those pirates at the bay.

This makes no sense. Loto arrested the Bluejam pirates a long time ago. Who are all these people?

He knocks the hat off a ruffian, and the face underneath is smeared with unnatural mud. 

Posh. 

They look slightly uncomfortable in their clothes, and one of them adjusts his collar, because untidy clothing would disturb him in a proper fight.

He lets the next man charge at him with a warcry, and he doesn’t resist.

A man with scissors for arms comes to his rescue, and the assailant goes flying toward a tree, fallen.

“You seem like a good fighter,” the newcomer acknowledges. “Don’t let your guard down. They’re experienced soldiers.”

Soldiers. These people block the exits of Gray Terminal so everyone can die-- they’re soldiers of the kingdom, playing dress-up as pirates, just to make sure the filth stays in and burns.

Loto could laugh.

How rotten is Goa? To the core.

“Revolutionary Army,” he addresses the man with scissors for arms, and he stiffens. Loto sighs, “what, are you new? Where’s Gone-boy?”

The man’s scissor-arms turn back into flesh. His colouring is weird, a perfect split down the middle to white and orange. His glasses are too flashy. There’s a lightning bolt at his forehead.

Loto sighs. “Whatever. Just tell me the plan.” 

Ace and Sabo are running around the place. No hostile colours near them.

Whatever Dragon has planned, it better work.

When scissorhand still doesn’t talk, Loto barks, “hurry up! or do you want more people to die?!”

-

Dragon opens a path to the sea. Loto opens a path into the city, and occupants of Gray Terminal, Edge Town, and Town Centre wreak havoc upon the nobles.

Loto closes his eyes, and no-- no, he doesn’t care that people are dying behind him.

The Celestial Dragons are coming in a few days, and like hell Loto is going to let them be pretty enough to receive them.

He wants the guards to know his face, to know his rage. 

“Dad!” there’s Ace, running up, “dad, listen, some assholes stole Sabo’s goggles and then they took apart out treehouse and then we chased them and couldn’t--”

Ace trails off.

Loto rests a hand on his head.

“Are you hurt?” he asks, but he doesn’t trust his face to not be angry when he looks down. So he doesn’t look over. 

Ace buries his face in Loto’s knee.

“I’m fine,” his voice is a croak. 

Loto’s breath is shaky. Just a little more and he’ll let loose something further inside his chest, and the people around him may as well die right now.

He crouches down, and picks up Ace in one arm, just like how he’d always do on their voyages when Ace was still in crawling age.

He looks for Sabo.

-

Pirates often don’t become revolutionaries. 

Revolutionaries recruit from the remnants of ruined civilisations, and victims of the cruelest social discriminations. Like the Gray Terminal after the fire.

One thing Dragon doesn’t deny is that many of his best agents stemmed from the Navy.

In this world, the ones most tempted to agree with the revolutionaries are none other than the Marines themselves. Only the ones right under their wing know the depths of how cruel the world can be.

And yet, some, like Garp and Sengoku still remain.

Dragon pities them.

“The Revolutionary Army fights directly against the world,” he says, striking up a conversation with the strange blond boy that sought refuge on his ship with the rest of the Terminal escapees. 

The boy looks up with admiration, understanding, and eyes that have seen only the cruelest the world had to offer.

“Is anyone allowed to join?” he asks.

Dragon wants to say yes. He met this kid a few weeks ago, scorning the nobility though he was born of their rotten cells. A kid that saw clearly the monsters of the world in his parents, and reacted with repulsion.

He never thought he’d meet the kid again. This must be luck.

But before he can say a thing, someone lands on the prow.

“I believe you have something of mine,” the man says.

Dragon holds up a hand before his subordinates attack. He recognizes the figure quickly, and he sighs. 

He considers his old friend. Loto’s no longer wearing those white robes of his-- surely, the incident of many years ago has left him broken in some invisible parts.

Sabo swirls around, “dad!” he calls, running forward. 

_ Dad? _ You’ve got to be kidding.

“Sabo!” the kid in Loto’s arms reacts, jumping down and taking the blond away to hide behind their father’s legs.

Loto fills his pipe and lights it.

“It’s been a while, Gone-boy,” he says, and his tone really never changes. It’s just as obnoxious as ever. 

“I never thought I’d meet you here, Rotty,” Dragon greets him. “How did you know it was me?”

“I still don’t fucking know how you get Rotty out of Loreto,” Loto says, “and you think I wouldn’t recognize you with that edgy as fuck tattoo?”

Dry as dust, just as usual.

“Are those boys yours?” 

“As far as I know.”

“You’re free to take him back. Wasn’t planning on stealing him regardless,” Dragon says. “Though, if they’re ever interested in our vision, they’re welcome to join us in the future.”

Loto breathes out a gray cloud.

“ _ My _ kids,” he repeats.

And just as territorial as usual, I see.

“Eh?” Sabo looks up, almost sounding disappointed, “but Dad!

Loto spares him a glance. “No, Sabo,” he repeats. Then, “you’re looking at a sociopath, a pervert, and the traitor that threw me to Garp as a distraction so he could escape. You don’t want to be anywhere near him.”

“The pervert part was uncalled for. And it was  _ your _ idea.”

“You threw me to Garp as a distraction,” he hissed.

Dragon just stares at him, completely defeated. “Sorry,” he finishes, lamely.


	2. the aftermath.

The Royal Army is surrounding the hut.

“The fuck you want,” he growls, because it’s fucking three am, even gatebreaking arsonists want to fucking sleep, you know.

“Loreto Luckner, you are under arrest for destruction of Outlook property, staging last night's Gray Terminal invasion of High Town, and--”

“Up yours. Good night.” And he closes the door.

“Hey, LISTEN!”

-

The army patrols the Terminal after that. 

They’ve cleared up the burning and are making sure no survivors are around. They’ve barricaded Low Town and rebuilding Town Center from the damage, rushing for tomorrow’s Celestial Dragon visit.

The town’s a mess, so Loto sent the kids down for a sleepover cuddle session with Makino. He didn’t want bandits chasing after them down, so he alone stayed in the house.

And now, the Royal Army arrests him.

For one, Loto thinks it’s ironic that he’s sitting in jail.

Like, he’s a marine. He takes care of the pirates coming in when Garp isn’t around. He essentially protects the fucking island and they locked him up.

_ Ah yes please all of you ungrateful shits just go die then I don’t care anymore. _

“Do you have anything to say in your defence?” the royal guard prompts, and Loto scoffs. He’s been stuck hearing all this entitled bullcrap about their nonsense logic of why mass murder via arson is okay.

“Yeah,” and he stands up, arms no longer bound by the ropes. “Where’s my sword?”

-

Loto sits on the throne when the Celestial Dragon comes.

Their horrified faces are marvelous.

“They say beasts follow the strong,” Loto says, pretending to consider his charred fingertips and wondering where he could get a manicure done. “You’re dragons, are you not? Well, kneel.”

It’s only two seconds before swords are drawn, guns are fired, and Loto laughs, dashing out of the window with the happiest smile in years.

Ishikirimaru at his side and the royal army hot on his heels, Loto runs.

He wasn’t the (foster) child of Garp for nothing, after all.

The moment the Gray Terminal started burning, he had the horrifying inkling that he was not going to like it, he was going to do something about it, and Garp wouldn’t like it.

(Huh? What did Garp say again? Something about not interacting? Oops.)

He’s been running from Garp a total of thirty years. He can outrun a bunch of angry and scared soldiers easy.

The incoherent screeching of one offended Celestial Dragon back up at the throne room?

Well, Loto can’t hear a thing.

-

He makes it back to Fuusha with a bag of paint, spray cans, and et cetera.

“I’m home,” he hollers into Party’s Bar, and everyone turns to him. This is probably a weird sight, seeing a mercenary wrapped in bandages and looking a little charred and splashed with blood, walking into a bar like he owns the damn place.

Three kids saunter down from upstairs, yelling words that could’ve been ‘dad’, ‘shitty dad’, or ‘you’re late for lunch you bastard’ in various degrees of coherency and tears.

Ace and Sabo were still covered head to toe in bandages.

The kingdom is currently in a political crisis up there for angering a Celestial Dragon. The World Government’s ship is anchored off shore from here.

“Hey kids,” he puts a hand on Sabo’s and Luffy’s hats. They were doing their best koala impression by burying their faces as far into his knee as they could. When called, they all look up.

Loto lifted his bag of paint materials, and his lips stretched into a dangerously wide grin.

“I need your help in something.”

-

Loto considers his children very carefully. Seven, ten and ten. They love breaking stuff and running around, so here’s a ship, don’t break too much, but run around as hard as you can.

And he’s learning a lot about his children, particularly about their art skills.

Luffy sucks at getting paint on anything but himself. It’s only been ten minutes and he’s covered head to toe in ink. There’s more ink on him than there is on the ship.

Ace sucks at using any other colour than shit green. And shit brown. He likes to be subtle with explosions in the right places. Which is why the galley is hot pink.

Sabo sucks at being random. He gives the ship a nice renewed paint job in one portion before Loto has to remind him they’re trying to make a mess. He reluctantly draws his jolly roger there, but he makes sure the colours match first.

At a dull shore to the other end of Goa, with all its guards tied up by the trees, Loto unleashed the kids on the World Government’s sailing vessel.

“You bastard, you won’t get away with this!” one of the soldiers spits, “that’s a  _ Celestial Dragon’s _ ship! You and your entire family will be--”

“Yes, yes,” Loto groans, knocking him aside with the butt of his sword. “I touch them, I die. I kick them, I die. Well if I’m gonna die anyways, I’m gonna go all out, okay?”

“Dad dad dad! Look I drew my pirate flag on it!”

“That’s great, Luffy.”

“Dad, how do you spell ‘Extraterrestrial Bastards’?”

“Just try your best, Sabo.”

“DAD I BROKE THIS IMPORTANT-LOOKING THING”

“Ace! How the hell did you get up to the crow’s nest?”

Probably the best family bonding session they’ve ever had, to be honest. 

-

Of course, it doesn’t end well.

Apparently Goa is in a lot of trouble. But, by heavily using a certain outlaw as a scapegoat, they scraped by with their heads.

Goa’s reputation doesn’t fall too far, and they’re still deemed the most beautiful country in East Blue.

The Celestial Dragon made a whole fuss when he saw his beautifully redecorated ship (signed off with a large **ASL + dad** ) and demanded the culprits beheaded, but strangely enough, they never found Loto again.

Loto is also a lone eccentric man living in a mountain hut, so no one knows if he has any relatives or friends of any sort, bar the three children people note have also disappeared from Dawn Island.

Regardless, this was an incident kept heavily under wraps for the reputation of the Celestial Dragons and for Goa.

Heavily under wraps, but Garp found out anyways.

-

-

“So, good new and bad news,” Garp says, and that smile gives Loto shivers.

Wisely, Loto crosses his fingers. “What’s the good news?”

Garp beams, “remember you lost your ship last time? Well, I got you a new, big one.”

Loto raises his eyebrow at that. “And the bad news?”

Garp’s expression falls into serious and he jabs a thumb in the direction of the sea. “You’re fired and now have a bounty. Start running.”

Loto takes a drag. Yeah, he honestly expected this to go worse.

Then, “do I get to keep the kids?”


End file.
